In early trading on the 13th, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) is down more than 2% on worries that a tariff war between the United States and China could resume.
As of 9:04 a.m. that day, the KOSPI was at 3,527.29, down 83.31 points (2.31%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI opened at 3,547.56, down 63.04 points (1.75%).
In the main bourse, foreigners are net sellers of 161.9 billion won, while individuals and institutions are selling 46.0 billion won and 113.9 billion won, respectively.
The KOSDAQ was down 18.96 points (2.21%) at 840.53 from the previous day. On the KOSDAQ, individuals are net selling 41.8 billion won, while foreigners and institutions are net buying 42.5 billion won and 200 million won, respectively.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who had signaled retaliation for China's rare earth export controls, has offered a conciliatory gesture. On the 12th (local time), Trump said on his social media (SNS), "The United States is not trying to hurt China but to help it," adding, "Don't worry about China. Everything will be fine."
He went on to say of Chinese President Xi Jinping, "The highly respected President Xi only went through a brief rough patch," adding, "He does not want his country to go through a recession, and neither do I."
Earlier, on the 10th, President Trump, in response to China's rare earth export controls, decided to impose a 100% ultra-high tariff and even hinted he might boycott a first in six years face-to-face meeting with President Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju later this month.
As a result, U.S. stocks in New York tumbled across the board last Friday. Investor sentiment froze after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping had fallen through and warned of imposing high tariffs on China.
According to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the 10th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 878.82 points (1.90%) to close at 45,479.60. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 182.60 points (2.71%) to 6,552.51, and the Nasdaq composite plummeted 822.20 points (3.56%) to 22,204.43 at the close.